May 30th

May 30, 2014

CUMBERLAND â€“ The field of candidates to replace departing Mayor Daniel McKee grew to three on Friday as former Town Councilman Daniel Alves announced his bid for the seat.

Alves, a Democrat like the two other prospective candidates, Manuel DaCosta and William Murray, pointed to both his council experience and his operation of small business for nearly 40 years as making him well qualified for the townâ€™s executive post.

May 29th

May 29, 2014

PAWTUCKET -- A fire that broke out about 9:45 p.m. Thursday night at 24-26 Garden St., was brought under control in about 30 minutes, but left 12 people without a place to live. The cause of the fire was not immediately available. No injuries were reported.

May 29, 2014

EAST PROVIDENCE â€“ Two Fall River men were detained on drug charges Thursday after the state police seized a sizable quantity of heroin during a motor vehicle stop on I-195 the day before.
State police said they seized more than 20 â€śbricksâ€ť of heroin â€“ 1,050 individually wrapped packets in all â€“ after they pulled the car over. A single brick has a street value of about $300.

May 28th

May 28, 2014

PAWTUCKET â€” Usually, it's the marginal students who sigh in relief upon learning they will graduate after all. This June, more so than in years past, the city's teachers and administrators will be feeling that sense of relief right along with them.

May 25th

May 25, 2014

CENTRAL FALLS â€” The city that is just one square mile in size is attracting some big thinkers.

This summer, 30 students from the Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University, as well as the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia, will be embarking on a joint project to transform an empty lot on Dexter Street into an attractively landscaped plaza.

May 22nd

May 22, 2014

PAWTUCKETâ€”School officials say George Grimes was a versatile English language arts teacher who had always received positive evaluations for his job performance. Therefore, the news of his arrest Thursday morning on child pornography charges rocked the Shea High School community as well as those on the administration side, said interim Schools Superintendent Patricia DiCenso.
â€śThis was not on our radar,â€ť said DiCenso. â€śWe're sad and surprised. And the children are sad. But the children's safety comes first, and Mr. Grimes has been placed on leave while we investigate this,â€ť she said.

May 21st

May 21, 2014

PAWTUCKETâ€”A proposed new LA Fitness Center to be built on a blighted stretch of North Main Street and Pawtucket Avenue was given conditional approval by the city's Planning Commission at a meeting Tuesday night.
The proposal by Nms Associates LLC, that is part of the Procaccanti Group, involves an expanse of property that runs roughly from Ann Mary Street in Pawtucket to the corner of the former Sears department store at White Avenue in Providence.

May 20th

May 20, 2014

CENTRAL FALLS â€“ A Central Falls business owner was sentenced to three months probation and ordered to pay restitution to three former employees for unpaid wages in the amount of $2,614.45.
Milad Shabo, 50, with a last known address of 1325 Broad St., pleaded nolo contendere on May 16 in Providence District Court before Justice Elaine T. Bucci to one count of violating a final order of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training in violation of Rhode State law pertaining to payment on separation by employer.

May 19th

May 19, 2014

CENTRAL FALLS â€“ Rhode Islandâ€™s smallest city already has the highest percentage of foreign-born residents and Mayor James Diossa has now officially proclaimed it a â€śWelcoming Cityâ€ť for newcomers to America.
He says it will send out the message that Central Falls is a good place to come to raise a family and start a business.

May 19, 2014

PAWTUCKETâ€”It's a densely populated city that has long mixed industry with residential. Yet, with a renewed effort at trying to beautify the riverfront, a plan by the owner of M&G Trucking and Transportation to build a new trucking facility in an area known as Bishops Bend has caused controversy with nearby property owners and has city officials trying to find a balanced solution.
Read the complete story in Tuesday's newspaper.

May 18th

May 18, 2014

CENTRAL FALLS â€” In the best-case scenarios, teaching is a two-way street. A unique new collaboration between Rhode Island College and the Central Falls School District capitalizes on this, and then some.
Rhode Island College recently hosted a celebration of the first anniversary of its partnership with Central Falls schools through the Innovation Lab. Reportedly the first of its kind in the nation, this joint effort is designed to function as a â€śshared community,â€ť where new models of learning, teaching and services are developed, piloted and researched.

May 15th

May 15, 2014

PROVIDENCE â€“ Holding his thumb and forefinger about a half inch apart, retired Central Falls policeman Bruce Ogni implored the House Finance Committee to â€śshow us just this much compassionâ€ť by allowing the retirees to keep the 75 percent of their pensions they have left after the cityâ€™s historic bankruptcy.
While there were some tax increases and layoffs as part of Central Fallsâ€™ plan to get out of bankruptcy, the hammer came down hardest on retirees.

May 14th

May 14, 2014

PAWTUCKETâ€”To ease more cases of anticipated overcrowding at the elementary level, sixth grade students from Fallen Memorial and Agnes E. Little Elementary Schools will be moved to Jenks Junior High School in the fall.
On Tuesday, the School Committee unanimously approved the plan outlined by interim Schools Superintendent Patricia DiCenso. She said the move is necessary because there is no available classroom space remaining at Fallon or Little to accommodate the expected influx. Projected enrollment figures show an additional 55 students heading to Fallon in the fall and 29 more at Little.

May 12th

May 12, 2014

CENTRAL FALLS â€” Four tenants at 149 Valley St. were sitting outside in Monday's sunshine, but they had heavy hearts knowing that their neighbor, Shelina Moreino, was not among them. The 41-year-old mother was found stabbed to death inside her apartment early Sunday morning, allegedly at the hands of her estranged husband, Robert Bethea.

May 9th

May 9, 2014

PAWTUCKET â€“ There are nine craft breweries in Rhode Island, and three of them are in Pawtucket, which just might make the city the craft brewery capital of Rhode Island, says Jason Lourenco, co-owner of the cityâ€™s third micro brewery â€“ Brewery 401 â€“ which opened on May 1.

â€śItâ€™s purely coincidental that we landed here in Pawtucket, and we only realized later that it was where Bucket Brewery Co. used to be before they expanded,â€ť says Lourenco, who along with co-owner and Brewmaster Nicole Pelletier opened Brewery 401 in the Lorraine Mills building on Mineral Spring Avenue.

May 8th

May 8, 2014

WOONSOCKET â€“ Declaring that â€śdiscrimination is real in Rhode Island today,â€ť Democratic candidate for governor Clay Pell laid out what he called an â€śOpportunity for Allâ€ť policy that would benefit women, minorities, gays and even illegal immigrants.
â€śI believe we need to make this a place where all people can succeed,â€ť Pell told reporters at a press conference at the Museum of Work and Culture Thursday. â€śI believe we have to include people regardless of their immigration status in our economy. We have to make sure that

May 8, 2014

CENTRAL FALLS â€“ Fire investigators say the cause of a two-alarm fire that destroyed an eight-unit apartment building on Pine Street Wednesday afternoon has been officially listed as "undeterminedâ€ť due to the extensive damage.
A cause is classified "undetermined" when multiple causes can not be eliminated, or there is insufficient proof of a particular cause.

May 7th

May 7, 2014

PAWTUCKET â€“ A Pawtucket man was arrested Wednesday and charged in connection with the unprovoked stabbing of a barber at the Major League Kuts barber shop on Pleasant Street, police said.
The suspect, identified as Abraham R. Silva, 25, of 52 Larch St., Pawtucket.
Read the full story in Thursday's newspaper.